Generally, it is widely considered that a toothbrush is essential to maintain healthy oral hygiene. With improved technology, devices have been introduced in the prior art that provide electrical toothbrushes. These electrical toothbrushes are considered more efficient than manual toothbrushes and rapidly expanding in popularity. As a result, there are many electrical toothbrushes in the prior art with a variety of driving mechanisms and driving methods for removing plaque.
However, toothbrushes harbor microorganisms that could cause oral infection. Because the oral cavity is home to hundreds of different types of microorganisms, it is not surprising that some of these microorganisms are transferred to a toothbrush during use. Furthermore, it is also possible for these microorganisms to proliferate when transferred onto the toothbrush. Therefore, there exists a need for a toothbrush that allows a user to disinfect the toothbrush after each use.
Devices have been disclosed in the prior art that relate to electrical toothbrushes. These include devices that have been patented and published in patent application publications. Some devices provide toothbrushes with bristles that project around a spherical head. Other devices provide electrical toothbrushes having cylindrical rotatable brush heads. These devices, however, fail to provide a brushing head having a plurality of bristles thereon, whereby the brushing head is rotatably driven in either clockwise rotation or counterclockwise rotation. Furthermore, these devices also fail to provide an antimicrobial assembly that allows a user to disinfect the toothbrush after each use.
The present invention provides a toothbrush that includes a elongated shaft having a brushing head removably attached thereon configured to extend and retract from a handle portion. The handle portion forms an interior volume configured to receive and support the brushing head, a rotating assembly and an antimicrobial assembly. The rotating assembly includes an electrical motor that is configured to rotatably drive the brushing head and a battery configured to provide voltage to operate the electrical motor. The rotating assembly includes a switch that is configured to allow a user to choose between clockwise rotation and counterclockwise rotation of the brushing head. The antimicrobial assembly includes at least one UV light source configured to sterilize the brushing head and the elongated shaft. The UV light source is also connected to the battery to provide electrical power to the UV light source.
It is therefore submitted that the present invention is substantially divergent in design elements from the prior art, and consequently it is clear that there is a need in the art for an improvement to toothbrushes. In this regard, the instant invention substantially fulfills these needs.